Google recently released a feature that allows users to quickly send data, such as photos or documents, to a nearby person with a Chromebook or Android device. Now it looks like the developers are working on updating this feature so that users can easily send data to their devices.
Nearby Share arrived on Chrome OS devices in June and competes with similar technologies such as Apple’s AirDrop. On Sunday, Chrome Story, a blog focused on Chrome and Chrome OS, spotted an “add feature flag”in Chromium Gerrit, referring to a Nearby Share add-on called Self Share. This feature “ensures seamless communication between the user’s own devices,” the flag reads.
Self Share will allow you to send data to yourself without using email or third party cloud drives. When using Bluetooth, WebRTS, or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, data should be transferred to the nearest Chrome OS or Android device in seconds.
As noted by Chrome Unboxed, Self Share still has to pass the Chrome OS Canary developer flag stage before regular Chrome OS users see it on their devices.
“If you enable this flag or wait for this feature to become available, a new ‘Send to Your Devices’ menu item will appear after you click ‘Share with Neighborhood’ on the Chrome OS share sheet,”writes Chrome Unboxed.
Self Share will improve interaction between various Google-powered computing devices, but there is still a long way to go before people insist on using only Google devices, as some do with Apple products.